The pharmaceutical sector is seeing another changeover, as AstraZeneca announced Friday that it will buy ZS Pharma to strengthen its metabolic disease portfolio.
The firm agreed to pay ZS Pharma $2.7 billion for the acquisition, which breaks down to $90 per share, according to The Guardian.
The announcement comes weeks after rumors swirled about an acquisition of the California company by Actelion, The Wall Street Journal reported.
ZS Pharma is in the process of developing hyperkalemia treatments, with one treatment currently under review by the FDA If approved, the treatment could produce sales of more than $1 billion per year.
AstraZeneca Chief Executive Pascal Soriot said in a statement that the acquisition of ZS Pharma "compliments our strategic focus on cardiovascular and metabolic disease by adding a potential best-in-class treatment to our portfolio of innovative medicines," according to WSJ.
The deal is expected to close by the end of the year, according to AsrtaZeneca's website. The firm also hopes that the agreement kick-starts its growth and reemergence as a top company in the pharmaceutical sector.
